This invention relates, generally, to water testing and more particularly to a method and device for the testing of residential or domestic water supplies at the point of use and to recommend a course of action for the correction of certain common domestic water problems.
Ever since domestic plumbing systems have come into use in this country, there has been a need to evaluate the quality of water in order to ascertain the actual potential for damage to plumbing fixtures and the like. More recently, with the aging of water supply systems in many municipalities, the acute need for testing and corrective measures has increased. Further, there is also the need to evaluate the quality of water in order to maintain certain taste and health standards.
Heretofore, testing procedures were either required to be done by professionals who then made specific recommendations or were accomplished via testing kits. Laboratory testing analysis by an outside service is expensive and takes an appreciable amount of time before results can be obtained. Test kits were and are typically expensive, cumbersome and/or difficult to utilize, see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,059 to Whitcher et al.
Typically, these tests kits attempted to determine appropriate levels of substances or properties such as acidity, total chlorine, free chlorine, total hardness as CaCO.sub.3, total alkalinity or pH.
A number of patents have issued for the specific purpose of testing for one or more of these substances or properties for different purposes or reasons. U.S. Pat. No. 1,967,557 to John relates to a device for testing acidity in oral secretions. U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,735 to Jordan relates to a quick dip indicator which includes a carrier absorptive to the liquid being analyzed. The carrier has a plurality of spaced areas, each of which contains a substance color responsive to different concentrations of a particular ion being made. To obtain a measurement with the indicator, the indicator is dipped into the liquid and immediately removed therefrom. The concentration of ions in the liquid is shown by a color change in the spaced areas. U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,442 to Bullard et al. relates to a colorimetric indicator. The drawings illustrate a dipstick having a plurality of "tabs" which are bonded to the dipstick. U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,059, previously mentioned, utilizes containers having color indicia thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 4,409,182 to Macklem utilizes a tube having on it a plurality of plastic components. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,115 to Rupe et al. utilizes a dipstick type apparatus for detecting free available chlorine in a liquid.
All of the above-mentioned devices or tests are inadequate for true "home-testing kits" in a number of ways. In particular, reading and hence analysis is difficult in that it requires comparison to charts which are not, generally, readily available. Further, none allow for a total of the five important tests enumerated above, i.e. total chlorine, free chlorine, total hardness as CaCO.sub.3, total alkalinity and pH to be tested simultaneously. Further, none of the above-mentioned devices allow the results of such tests to be easily compared with a chart or other suitable information source to instruct the user as to the appropriate procedures or devices to be utilized to correct any problems indicated by the tests.
Finally, another device which is utilized to test domestic water is found in a product entitled "Marathon Pool and Spa Triple Dip Strip" distributed by Marathon Organization, Allentown, Penna. 18104. This device utilizes a dipstick having three pads thereon for testing pH, total alkalinity and free chlorine. The dipstick is inserted into the pool or spa water and then compared to vertically oriented color charts on the container in which the dipsticks are packaged. Due to the orientation of the color chart, only one pad is capable of being compared to the color chart at any given time and the color chart or the dipstick must be moved coaxially in order to compare the specific colors with the actual shade of each pad. Moreover, no corrective action is suggested other than the addition of chlorine.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water test apparatus which is inexpensive to manufacture. It is still a further object of the present invention to produce a water testing apparatus which is simple to manufacture and utilize.
It is yet another object of the present invention to produce water test apparatus wherein the results are readily correlated with a system of corrective measures which are readily usable and understandable by the end user.
Another object of the present invention is to produce a water test apparatus which allows the user to compare the quality of water after corrective measures have been taken with the quality of water prior to the institution of corrective measures.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a method for performing water test procedures which is simple to utilize. It is yet another object of the present invention to produce a water test apparatus which is effectively "goof-proof" so that the unskilled user can take the correct and appropriate corrective action.
Still another object of the present invention is to produce a water test apparatus which is compact, has no moving parts and which is completely safe to use.
It is another object of the present invention to produce a water test apparatus which produces immediate results without the need for extensive or delayed testing.
Yet another object of the present invention is to produce a water test apparatus which permits water quality to be individually adjusted at different locations, for example, the bathroom, kitchen, exterior faucet, washing machine and the like.